My printing lab was having a sale and so I put in an order for a standout print of one of my maternity shots, and I’m completely in love. I am so ready to start snuggling baby in this little corner of our room!

Baby Gifts!

I have received several gifts in the mail lately, and writing a thank you note and mentioning the gifters in this post doesn’t seem like enough of a thank you!

Claire, a friend from BYU, sent me this portable changing pad from her Etsy shop Claire & Me. I already have it packed up in my brand new diaper bag!

Valerie, a doula in SLC sent me this link to a post that talks about clues to pay attention to during labor to get an idea of how dilated you are. If you are pregnant you may already know that having cervical exams after your water breaks can be harmful, as it can potentially introduce infection. Also, I’ve heard they are nasty to experience pretty much anytime, but especially during a contraction. I’ve read the article several times now and plan on going over it with TH as well so we both can have an idea how far along I am without relying on internal exams!

Midwife’s Guide to Intact Perineum

After reading about my intense desire to avoid tearing while pushing out T1, Kasia sent me Gloria Lemay’s post on methods one can employ to protect the perineum during labor. Also another fantastic read for any pregnant women out there.

Am I Brave for Choosing Home Birth?

I don’t think so, and this article does a fantastic job articulating why.

The Photography Parlour

I follow Rosie Parson’s on Twitter, and I saw her tweeting about a new site she was working on geared toward new photographers. When I retweeted her link she contacted me and asked if I would be interested in doing an interview for the site! You can read my interview here, and I would encourage other fledgling photographers to head over and explore the rest of the site as well.

Meal Planning Worksheet

Go check out Erin’s Meal Planning Worksheet post, complete with a link to download her genius excel spreadsheet. I just love Erin and her quest to improve her life in so many areas!

Mother’s Blessing

I haven’t read them yet, but I did sneak over to my Mother’s Blessing site and see that 20 of you have taken the time to write something for me to read. I’m not sure yet when I’ll read all of them, but it will likely be sometime this week. What a blessed girl I am to have you in my life. Thanks again to Evelyn for putting this together for me.

Also:

15 Comments

Hi there,
I want to start by saying that I love reading your work, seeing your photos, thinking about your approach to life – all are wonderful, and keep me coming back everyday. That loyalty established, I want to offer a wee bit of constructive criticism in the hopes of helping your writing and site be just a wee bit better (hard to do, since it’s already so great!) My grammatical pet peeve: the word “gifted” used as a verb. I’m not sure where this trend came for, but it doesn’t make sense. Gifted is an adjective – as in, “she was very gifted at learning languages.” “Gave” is the past tense we’re looking for. Similarly, “gift” is not a verb (as in, I want to gift her something nice”) but rather a noun: “I want to GIVE her a nice GIFT.”

I hope this doesn’t come across as snarky, because I really don’t mean it to be; I love your writing. I share this because we women often have to work harder to be taken seriously and have our intelligence fully valued, and I think it’s worth trying to eliminate as many little things like this – it makes it that much easier to be taken seriously!

Christie Reply:April 3rd, 2010 at 9:47 pm

Actually, Liz, that’s not accurate. I understand where you were coming from, though. “Gift” is both a noun and a verb.

Jenna, my question/comment to you is that while I understand and appreciate your faith and approach to birth, I wonder about your comment of not ever having experienced a cervical exam. Am I interpreting that correctly?

Woman to woman, regardless of never having had another sexual partner, there are other things that an annual lady-doctor exam guards against and can help prevent besides STDs/STIs or things of that origin (of which I am sure you’re aware). Just looking out for you, this is an extremely personal subject, so don’t feel the need to respond.

All the best!

Jenna Reply:April 4th, 2010 at 2:26 am

Thanks Christie.

The “no cervical exam” rule is in reference to exams done during pregnancy (usually at the end to assess dilation and effacement), not the annual lady doc visits that help keep women healthy. I don’t like them but I’ve certainly had them done!

Ya know…….I kinda like that you don’t have a nursery. I have never seen someone who didn’t and it made me realize what you really do and do not need. I feel insecure about our small house. It’s bigger than you apt and we will be able to have a baby room….but I always worry about the future when they get bigger. I feel like there isn’t enough room. I think about this a lot when planning out future
I like that you are putting it out there that a little baby doesn’t actually NEED its own room. I see your chair in the corner of your own room and I think “that makes sense” I think it’s a nice reality check for people and maybe other women who feel like they don’t have enough space can see that you don’t actually NEED all that . It’s kinda like weddings. We see all these things and think they are a “must have”, but they are not. you are not having a room because of your own needs and space but I wanted to tell you thank I think it is a great idea to be able to share with others. You don’t see the “less is more” very often. I like it and it makes me feel better about my own small home

I love your special little nook that is just waiting for you to sit in and rock your new little bebe. I remember preparing Sydney’s nursery before she was born and sitting in the rocking chair listening to a lullaby cd and staring off into space for long periods of time just imagining what it would be like to actually hold her in my arms. It was magical.

I love the baby nook! Our apartment is so small, I think we will try to do something like this, too. And we are definitely co-sleeping. I hope we’ll be moving before the baby is in school, so the first few years, s/he can stay with us.